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Cheech Raygoza

Cheech (he/him) is a first generation, low-income, formerly incarcerated, 3rd year, non-traditional transfer student, recovering addict from Allan Hancock College in the city of Santa Maria.  He is majoring in Sociology and plans to attend UCSB or UC Irvine after his time here at Cal. While at community college Cheech founded the Beyond Incarceration Greater Education club which helps formerly incarcerated and socially impacted individuals enroll and succeed in college. He is also a mentor and motivational speaker to high school students and incarcerated individuals in Santa Barbara and San Luis county. Cheech serves as a pillar to the communities that are underprivileged, underrepresented, underserved, or low socioeconomic status, serving those from his own neighborhoods. He will later further his service either as a teacher, counselor, and or mentor to kids in the juvenile justice system speaking for those who can not, those who are and have been oppressed. His ultimate goal is to earn a Ph.D. in Social Welfare at Harvard and make B.I.G.E. a non-profit organization.